Raymond James & Associates Grows Holdings in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB)

Raymond James & Associates raised its position in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB) by 58.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,333,418 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 490,669 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates owned approximately 0.35% of W. R. Berkley worth $75,645,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley by 83.0% during the 2nd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,180,413 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $92,757,000 after purchasing an additional 535,471 shares during the period. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. increased its holdings in W. R. Berkley by 190.4% in the first quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 477,774 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $42,254,000 after buying an additional 313,234 shares in the last quarter. Berkley W R Corp acquired a new stake in shares of W. R. Berkley during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $21,138,000. WINTON GROUP Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of W. R. Berkley during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $18,482,000. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of W. R. Berkley by 66.6% in the 2nd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 490,935 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $38,578,000 after acquiring an additional 196,263 shares during the period. 68.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com cut W. R. Berkley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of W. R. Berkley from $65.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of W. R. Berkley in a research note on Monday, July 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $68.67 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on W. R. Berkley from $59.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on W. R. Berkley from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $61.64.

W. R. Berkley Price Performance

WRB stock opened at $61.03 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $23.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.62. W. R. Berkley Co. has a 1 year low of $41.82 and a 1 year high of $61.96. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $58.24 and a 200-day simple moving average of $55.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a current ratio of 0.38.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The insurance provider reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.92 by $0.12. W. R. Berkley had a return on equity of 21.34% and a net margin of 12.05%. The firm had revenue of $3.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.84 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.14 earnings per share. W. R. Berkley’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that W. R. Berkley Co. will post 4.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W. R. Berkley Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 23rd were issued a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 23rd. W. R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.51%.

W. R. Berkley Profile

W. R. Berkley Corporation, an insurance holding company, operates as a commercial lines writers worldwide. It operates in two segments, Insurance and Reinsurance & Monoline Excess. The Insurance segment underwrites commercial insurance business, including excess and surplus lines, admitted lines, and specialty personal lines.